This morning I woke up totally frustrated. Life's problems were dominating my mind again. I began to pray and nothing changed. I prayed more earnestly and nothing changed. Then I realized that satan was not leaving easily. The Bible says: “12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. “ Then I upped the ante, I started praising God. I praised Him for all the good that I have. I praised Him for all of the great that he is. This made me feel a lot better, but I still felt like satan was right there fighting some more. Still trying to fill my head with garbage. So I brought out the big gun. Satan hates the cross, he was defeated at the cross. I thanked Jesus for his cross. I pictured Him on the cross. I plead with Him to cover me with His blood that He shed on the cross. Finally, peace descended on me, my mind was clear again. Romans 8:6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. Next, we need to learn how to think better. Read the “Battlefield of the Mind.” This book will help you learn how to think in a positive Godly manner. Lastly, we can't allow anger, frustration, fear, or anything else disruptive to rule our minds. We need to fight back with scripture in two ways. Firstly, read and reread, specific verses that address our main issue, and secondly, read scriptures just to get the Word of God in us. Memorize this fact: “Your meditation is your medication.” Meditate on the Word. Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
A desire for normal pleasure leads to a focus on pleasure that is short-term and one that controls and enslaves us. A desire for the Holy Spirit's self-control leads to a type of pleasure that is clean and long-term. We increase self-control by decreasing bad things and increasing good things. One example of that is to cut out a risky TV show and replace it with a cleaner show. Another idea is to set up an hour of a new way of thinking. One hour in the day where you have the most temptation. We plan a new way of life for that hour. Pray: “Father, guide my eyes.” My brother quit a case of beer day drinking habit just by deciding to quit. Why? Because he hated his addiction. Sometimes we still have some love for the thing that is destroying us. Pray: “Father, help me to hate this addiction.” Praying this a lot really helps.
This is something I’ve struggled with, I’ve always known I SHOULD hate my habit, but I’ve never truthfully hated it. Appreciate you posting, have read through many of your posts and they have been so beneficial as I start this journey
The Bible says in 2nd Timothy 3 that in the last days “People will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Satan's trick is to convince us that we will have less pleasure if we do things God's way. But the Bible says: Psalm 16:11 ESV “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Satan's trick is to tell us it is okay to be sloppy with devotions, short with prayer, and to get tired of praising God and giving thanks. Because he knows that when we lose our fire which leads to God's joy, he has a chance. Memorize Psalm 16:11 so that you will always be aware of what is going on. If I don't pray enough, I will miss out on the beginning of fullness of joy and the start of pleasures forevermore. If I don't focus on verses about lust and focus on daily Bible reading, I will miss out on the beginning of fullness of joy and the start of pleasures forevermore. If I don't pray about and/or try to do something good for God, I will miss out on the beginning of fullness of joy and the start of pleasures forevermore. Today, you may be a bit burnt out on trying to achieve your list of things that you want to change, based on articles on this site. Today, you may think... I am missing out on lots of pleasure and fun. But as you live this verse, and continue to be on fire for Jesus Christ, you will see that satan is just trying to trick you again with his short-term pleasures that lead to destruction. Instead, when you live an on-fire life for Christ, you will be starting down a path where you will see the beginings of fullness of joy and the start of pleasures forevermore. Consider praying: “Father, make known to me the path of life.”
